Parañaque to hire 100 more traffic enforcers for C5 Link Expressway construction; Will also seek help from subdivisions to open roads to decongest traffic

MANILA, Philippines — With the expected traffic jams upon the start of the construction of the C5 (Circumferential Road 5) Link Expressway project in Parañaque City next month, the local government unit announced on Monday the hiring of 100 additional traffic enforcers to help in the traffic management along the city’s major roads.

The additional men will back up the existing 80 traffic enforcers who will manage traffic along affected roads for the project, according to Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez.

City Administrator Fernando Soriano said city has started looking for second-year college graduates and those willing to work on a shifting schedule for the traffic enforcer openings.

“Those who will be hired will undergo proper traffic management training,” he said, stressing the great need for additional men in the traffic management team because of the volume of vehicles using the city’s major roads.

Olivarez earlier appealed for patience from the public, especially motorists, since the construction of the C-5 Link next month would likely cause a “short-term inconvenience on roads near Moonwalk and Merville Villages and along Andrews Avenue, Airport Road and Sucat Road.

The mayor said that the first portion of the 7.6-kilometer project, which would connect C-5 to the Cavite Expressway, was given a “notice to proceed” by the Toll Regulatory Board last December.

After the approval, Olivarez said a groundbreaking ceremony would be held within January, to be followed by the construction in February.

Once the project is completed in 2018, the P9-billion expressway is expected to “ensure faster travel and more productive living on the city” especially to residents of Merville, BF Subdivision, Multinational Village and Moonwalk.

“The new expressway will likewise provide safe, fast and convenient expressway travel for its users in the Cavite, Las Piñas, Taguig, and Makati areas and nearby areas when completed,” added Olivarez.

During the construction phase, the city government appealed to the project contractor to deploy flagmen to help traffic enforcers implement the “No U-turn” and “No Left/Right Turns” schemes.

The mayor also asked the city’s traffic management unit to fully implement the opening of a “friendship route” in private subdivisions to declog major roads in Parañaque.

Last August, Olivarez ordered the “interconnection of roads inside private subdivisions” and set aside a P30-million budget for the project.

This project will eventually give private motorists access to subdivision roads, which have been seen as appropriate alternative routes to congested major roads in the city. It will also ease traffic along Sucat, BF Homes, Don Galo, Baclaran and Coastal Road during rush hours.

“The opening of the friendship route in the city’s private villages will be our immediate solution to the worsening traffic problem. It also will benefit thousands of commuters and motorists not just from Parañaque but likewise nearby cities of Pasay, Taguig, Las Piñas and Muntinlupa,” Olivarez explained.

The Doña Soledad Subdivision in Barangay Don Bosco will be opened this month, just in time for the beginning of the C-5 Link construction in February, as the pilot friendship route in the city, according to Soriano.

Friendship route stickers will also be provided to residents but Olivarez said the number of tickets would be limited to prevent congestion along alternate routes. Residents can get sticker passes upon submission of valid identification cards and photocopies of their car’s original receipt and certificate of registration. SFM